nineteen, range
fourteen. Mr. Miller just missed being a native son of Nebraska,
his parents moving to that state when he was but two months
old.
Charles A. Miller, son of James B. and Charlotte
(Ames) Miller, was born, February 29, 1880, in Laporte county,
Indiana. That same year his parents came to Valley county,
Nebraska, the father being one of the homesteaders of that county.
After receiving his education in the local schools, Mr. Miller,
the subject of this sketch, engaged in farming.
On April 17, 1901, Mr. Miller was united in
marriage to Miss Pearl B. Coonrod, who was born in Iowa. Her
parents, Albert M. and Eunice (Denison) Coonrod, are now residents
of Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have two children, Donald A. and
Olive Gertrude.
In 1906, Mr. Miller and family moved to Ord,
Nebraska, where Mr. Miller engaged in the livery business for
about a year, but sold, and removed to the home farm of three
hundred and twenty acres in section thirty-four, township
nineteen, range fourteen, where he and his family still live. A
view of the well-built, modern house, large barn, built in 1911,
and numerous outbuildings is to be seen on another page of this
volume.
Mr. Miller is a young man of affairs, enjoying
the prospect of a bright future. He is a member of the Methodist
church, a democrat in politics, and fraternizes with the American
Order of Protection.
Mr. Miller remembers the family's sod-house
days, although he was a very small lad when they moved into the
new frame dwelling. He recalls seeing three deer at one time. One
winter was spent in a hunting expedition around Swan lake, in Holt
county, but aside from that diversion, he has given his entire
attention to the farm.
A sketch of Mr. Miller's father appears on
another page of this review.

FREDERICK L.
LAGESCHULTE.

Frederick
L. Lageschulte, proprietor of one of the most valuable estates in
Pierce county, Nebraska, has been a resident of that locality
since 1894. He is prominently known throughout the eastern part of
the state as one of the foremost farmers and stockmen in Nebraska.
After many years of hard labor in building up his farm, Mr.
Lageschulte is now prepared to enjoy the remaining years of his
life in peace and comfort, surrounded by a host of good
friends.
Mr. Lageschulte was born in Barrington,
Illinois, December 26, 1871, and is the son of Fred A. and Lizzie
(Meinas) Lageschulte, the oldest in a family of four children,
three brothers and one sister. The sister, Mrs. S. T. Zuer, is a
missionary in China. Our subject's father is a native of Germany,
born in 1844, and emigrating to America in 1858. The grandfather
had a dyeing and cleaning works in the old country, and on coming
to the new world, sailed from Hamburg, spending nine weeks in a
stormy voyage to Baltimore. They settled at Barrington, Illinois,
and while residing there, our subject's father enlisted in the
army, in Company H, One Hundred and Fiftysixth Illinois Infantry,
in 1864, and did guard duty on a supply train in Sherman's march
to the sea, participating in the grand review at the close of the
war.
Mr. Lageschulte, our subject, came to Nebraska
in 1894, and bought the land where he now lives, the east half of
section sixteen, township twenty-seven, range one.
In 1897, our subject was married to Miss Lydia
Wiseman, of Barrington, a daughter of Frederick and Hannah
(Lislartka) Wiseman. To this union two children have been born:
Helta and Verdall, and our subject and family worship at the
United Evangelical church.
Mr. Lageschulte's maternal Grandfather Meinas,
was in Chicago in 1836, when there were but forty houses in the
place, and owned eighty acres in what is now Lake View. The land
he bought at Barrington was secured from the government at a
dollar and a quarter per acre, but little of it was broken; the
rest was raw prairie land, without a tree or shrub.

HANS N.
LAURITSEN.

Hans N.
Lauritsen, a prosperous farmer and stockman, residing on the south
half of section eight, of Cleveland precinct, is the owner of a
fine estate, known as the Union Stock Farm, which comprises one
thousand acres, improved with a handsome residence, and every
equipment for the conducting of a model farm. Mr. Lauritsen is one
of the largest land-owners in his section of the country, being
proprietor of over two thousand acres of choice Howard county
land.
Mr. Lauritsen was born in Denmark on the
fourteenth of February, 1849, and was the fourth a family of seven
children born to Laurits and Karn Clausen. He grew up in his
native land, and at the age of twenty-one, decided to seek his
fortune in the new world, landing in America in November, having
come all alone across the great sea, and locating at the first in
Ottawa county, Ohio.There he spent about five and a half years,
then came to Howard county, Nebraska, landing here in April, 1876.
He took up some land, and, farmed for many years, going through
all the pioneer experiences, homesteading on section four,
township thirteen, range eleven, where he succeeded in building up
a comfortable home and good farm.
In 1897, our subject came to his section, which
is admirably adapted to stock raising, and this he has put in the
best possible condition, erecting fine buildings of all kinds,
planted trees, and has every convenience for the operation of a
model farm.
Mr. Lauritsen was married in Ottawa county,
Ohio, in 1871, to Jensine Trenkner, who was a

COMPENDIUM OF
HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

837

native of Germany,
coming to America in the year of her marriage, and they have had
ten children, eight of whom are now living, named as follows:
Johannah, wife of Amil Larsen, they the parents of two children,
and occupying a farm adjoining Mrs. Larsen's father's estate;
Emma, wife of Niels Petersen, they living in Rock Springs, parents
of three children; Charles, married, farming his own place on
section ten, Dannebrog precinct, in Howard county; Thomas,
occupying the old homestead; Eddie, on his own farm in the
vicinity of his father's home; Mollie, wife of Peter Petersen,
farming in Howard county; Willie and George, both living at home,
and assisting their father. The two children who died were Louie
W., he dying when twenty-six years old, and Sadie, who died at
four years of age.
After Mr. Lauritsen had been in this country
some time, he was joined by his father, mother and one sister. The
mother died in 1893, and the father two years later, both passing
away at the home of our subject.
Mr. Lauritsen is active in all local, county and
state affairs, and is regarded as one of the leading citizens of
his section.

JOHN LUDWIG HENRY
LENZ.

John
Ludwig Henry Lenz, a man of sturdy German stock, and a citizen who
has contributed his share toward the upbuilding and progress of
Valley county, has made his own way in the world. He was born in
the village of Bromstead, province of Lenneberg-Segelberg,
Germany, February 27, 1859, and was the oldest of the six children
born to Henry Lenz and wife, who were parents of three sons and
three daughters. He was reared like other farmers' sons of his
country, and received a parochial school education. In 1880, being
then in his twenty-first year, he came to the United States in
search of an opportunity to advance his position in life, sailing
from Hamburg, November 20, and landed in New York seven days
later. He soon after came to Cass county, Nebraska, where he was
employed by the month at farm work. In October, 1883, he came to
Valley county, and filed on a hometsead [sic] on section
three, township seventeen, range sixteen. Returning to Cass
county, he spent the winter there, and in the following spring
returned to the homestead, and has since made his home there. He
has improved the farm in many ways, and has developed an excellent
property, being now owner of four hundred and eighty acres of
land. He has shown himself an able and enterprising farmer, and
has won a good standing in his community. He is the only one of
his family to come to America.
Mr. Lenz was married at Ord, Nebraska, May 4,
1884, to Emelia Peters, daughter of Peter and Lena (Shoemaker)
Peters. The Peters family were among the early settlers of Cass
County, locating there in 1860. Mr. Peters came to the United
States in 1855, located in Cook county, Illinois, and in 1857
there married Lena Shoemaker. Mrs. Lenz was horn in Cass county,
and was the fifth of seven children. Six children were born to Mr.
and Mrs. Lenz, namely: William, married, and living east of the
home farm, has one child; the other five, Henry, Fred, Katie,
George and Louis, are all at home. The reader's attention is
called to a sketch of D. O. Franzen, whose wife is a sister of
Mrs. Lenz.
Mr. Lenz and family lived for twelve or thirteen
years in a sod house in genuine pioneer style. Deer and antelope
were to be seen in large numbers on the open prairies. In the
blizzard of January 12, 1888, Mr. Lenz was out in it most of the
day, helping neighbors save their stock. In politics he is a
democrat, and was reared in the Lutheran church.

HIRAM WARNER.

Of the
leading old settlers and public-spirited citizens of Madison
county, Nebraska, the gentleman above mentioned deserves a
foremost place. Mr. Warner resides on section seventeen, township
twenty-three, range one, where he has a pleasant home, and is
surrounded by a host of kind neighbors and loving friends. He has
aided in no slight degree in the development of the commercial
resources of this region, and has done his full share in building
up the country.
Mr. Warner was born in New York state, his birth
occurring August 5, 1839, and is a son of Hiram and Catherine
(Miner) Warner, who were natives of Connecticut. At the age of six
years, our subject, with his parents, moved to Tazewell county,
Illinois, where be received his education, and grew to manhood's
estate.
In 1862, Mr. Warner enlisted in Company A, One
Hundred and Eighth Illinois Infantry, and served in the Civil war
until 1865 under General Smith. The battles participated in were
the Siege of Vicksburg, Champion Hill, Spanish Fort, and many
other skirmishes and engagements. Mr. Warner was wounded while on
the way with a small band of soldiers to get provisions, one-half
mile from the camp, being surprised by some sharpshooters. Mr.
Warner's brother also served his country in the civil war, and,
doing active duty, was taken prisoner, and confined at
Andersonville prison. He weighed one hundred and seventy pounds at
the time of his capture, and at the close of war, when he was
released from prison, he weighed but sixty-nine pounds, a loss in
weight of one hundred and one pounds.
In 1887, Mr. Warner came to Madison county,
Nebraska, where he originated the town of Warnersville, building a
creamery, a store, a canning factory and lumber yard. He has
always been an active factor in the advancement of all the best
interests of his home state and county, and, as

838

COMPENDIUM OF
HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

such, is widely and
favorably known.
Mr. Warner was united in marriage, August 16,
1862, to Miss Rosalthe L. Amsbury, of French and English descent,
and at native of West Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Warner are the
parents of two children, Edward and Guy.
Mr. Warner comes from quite an illustrious
family. His grandfather, on the maternal side, M. C. Mynor, served
in the revolutionary war. His paternal grandfather, Henry Warner,
was a brother of Seth Warner, whose name went down in the history
of the commonwealth.
Mr. Warner is a republican.

EDMOND
HAUMONT.

Edmond
Haumont, a prominent and successful farmer and stockman of Custer
county, is a native of Belgium, born March 9, 1858, the second
born of the six children of Joseph and Marian (Howlet) Haumont.
Both parents are deceased, the father passing away in January,
1872, and the mother in October, 1899. Mr. Haumont lived in his
native country until coming to America in the spring of 1877, when
he came direct to the neighborhood of Wood river, Hall county,
Nebraska, where he joined his brother, Jules, a sketch or whom
also appears in this work.
In the fall of 1877, Mr. Haumont went into Iowa,
and worked in the coal mines at Moingona and also near Des Moines.
He worked for a time on the Northwestern railroad, and in the fall
of 1879, returned to Hall county, and went on to Custer County,
taking a homestead on the northeast quarter of section three,
township eighteen, range nineteen, but he and his family now
reside on his wife's tree claim on the southeast quarter of
section thirty-four, township seventeen, range nineteen. He was
married in Grand Island, September 15, 1879, to Mary Severyns, and
in the following spring (March 27) came to his homestead in Custer
county.
Joseph Severyns came to America in April, 1875,
and in July of that year he was joined at Moingona, Iowa, by Tom
Severyns, Mary Severyns and Jules Haumont, who had just reached
America. Joseph and Tom Severyns came to the Wood river district,
in Hall county, in 1875, and took up timber claims, returning to
Iowa to work in the mines and on the railroad. In 1879, Joseph,
Tom and Mary Severyns came to Custer county, and took homesteads,
Mary securing a timber claim as well. When they came to Custer
county, Jules and Edmond Haumont came with them, the journey being
made with a covered wagon, and they were the first settlers on the
tableland just off Clear creek valley. Tom Severyns returned to
Belgium in 1886, and still resides there. Joseph Severyns lived in
Custer county until 1893, then moved to California, where his
death occurred in April, 1901.
Mrs. Edmond Haumont proved up on her homestead,
and (as mentioned above) Mr. and Mrs. Haumont, with their family,
live on her timber claim. Mrs. Haumont is a woman of strength of
character and determination, and is a pioneer settler of the
county. Mr. Haumont was appointed postmaster of the post-office at
Elton, October 10, 1881, being sworn in by County Judge Armour,
and holding office until April, 1899. The present incumbent is
Albert Kleeb, who married a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Haumont. Both
Mr. Haumont and his wife passed through the severe trials and
hardships of pioneer life, and well remember the days when grain
was sometimes ground in a coffee mill to make bread for the
family. They lived some time in a sod shanty, and had to pass
through years when the crops were ruined by drouth or a scourge of
grasshoppers, but have been triumphant over all difficulties, and
have come to a time of prosperity and success. They have twelve
hundred acres of choice land, with a fine home and comfortable
surroundings. The family have been prominent and progressive along
educational lines and the general progress of Custer county, and
are well known for their public spirit.
Mr. Haumont and wife have had three children of
whom but two survive: Paul J. and Sylvia. The former was born on
the homestead in 1880, lives in Custer county, and was married to
Eva Bokingharn, and, they have three children. Sylvia was born on
the homestead farm, October 10, 1882, is now the wife of Albert
Kleeb, postmaster at Elton, and they live on the original Joseph
Severyns homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Kleeb have three
children.

WILLIAM H.
BALIMAN.

William H.
Baliman, a prosperous and much respected farmer of Howard county,
well deserves the abundant success that has come to him as a
reward of industry, economy and thrift.
Mr. Baliman was horn in Clinton county,
Pennsylvania, on February 17, 1844. When an infant, three months
old, his parents moved to Dupage county, northern Illinois, where
he grew up, and was educated, attending the common schools. May
24, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer
Infantry, and served with his regiment for over three years,
engaging in the following principal battles: Chickasaw Bayou,
fought on December 27, 28 and 29, 1862; the engagement at Arkansas
Post, January 11, 1863; Jackson, Mississippi, May 4, 1863, and
July 10 to 17, 1863; Siege of Vicksburg, which engagement was
begun on May 18, and lasted until July 4, 1863; also was in the
battle of Lookout Mountain, November 24, 18631 Mission Ridge,
fought on November 25, 1863, where there were more prisoners taken
than there were men in the regiment; Ringgold Gap, Georgia,
November 27, 1863, and Madison, Alabama,

COMPENDIUM OF
HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

839

May 18, 1864. Besides
these encounters, Mr. Baliman participated in many minor
skirmishes, and, strange to say, passed through all these battles
without even receiving a scratch.
At the close of the war, Mr. Baliman returned to
his home in Illinois, and clerked in a store for about two years,
from there coming to Omaha, where he became interested in the
mercantile business, and remained for four years. He then came
into Howard county, landing here in the spring of 1871, and filed
on a homestead on section twelve, township fourteen, range eleven,
which he proved up on, and out of which he developed a good farm.
He built his first house, which was a frame structure, on the
table-land, and there passed through all the old Nebraska times.
Many and exciting were the encounters he had with the different
tribes of Indians, who infested that region, and he also went
through the grasshopper raids, drouths, etc., but through all
these trying times, never once thought of abandoning his claim. He
has been well repaid for his sufferings and discouragements, in
the possession of the elegant farm he now owns, which consists of
two hundred and forty acres of choice land, and comprising one of
the most valuable estates of Howard county.
Mr. Baliman is one of the very first settlers in
his locality, widely known. for his aid in building up the region,
and is a man who has always stood for the best interests of the
county along educational and commercial lines.
Mr. Baliman was married on May 18, 1869, to Miss
Mary LaClair, at the home of her parents in Naperville, Illinois,
her father and mother dying there some years ago. Our subject was
the second member in a family of fourteen children, but six or
whom are now living, one brother now in Chicago, Illinois, another
in Omaha, and the balance in different parts of the country. Mr.
and Mrs. Baliman are the parents of four children, one of whom is
dead, the other three named as follows: Will E., of St. Libory;
Ada M., wife of W. B. Connor, of City Point, Wisconsin, and Alfred
L., on the home farm. Carrie J. died October 15, 1905. She was the
wife of D. A. Geil. The family are prominently known throughout
their section of the state, and are among the worthy and
substantial residents on their respective localities.

SAMUEL LEROY
GLOVER.

Samuel
Leroy Glover is well known throughout, central Nebraska as a
successful farmer and ranchman, having large interests in Custer
County. He owns a large tract of land, well developed and equipped
in every respect, and one of the most charming homes in the
county. He was born in Otsego county, New York, July 4, 1832,
third child of Ezra Jarvis and Hannah (Mudge) Glover and the only
one of his family now surviving. His parents were natives of New
York, and married in Otsego county, and three sons and three
daughters were born to them. The father was a shoemaker by trade,
and at different times the family lived in various small villages
in the counties of Otsego, Tioga and Chemung, and also lived for a
short time in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, but returned to
Owego, Tioga county, where the death of the father occurred in
1844. After his death, the widow returned with the children to
Otsego county.
After the death of his father, Samuel L. Glover
lived with an uncle for about a year, then went with his mother
and the other two surviving children, Henry and Mary, to the
neighborhood of Hope factory, three miles south of Cooperstown.
The three children were sent to work in the factory. Later they
removed to Oneida county, and the two boys worked in a woolen
mill. The latter factory paid cash to their employes instead of
requiring them to trade out their earnings at the company store,
and about 1850, the family were able to move to western
Pennsylvania, where they had purchased a small farm. Samuel
remained there until twenty years of age, then left home to go out
in the world for himself. He went to work, in a country store and
post-office. Although his father had lived in several different
places he always located in a village where his children could
have educational advantages, and Samuel was an apt and ambitious
pupil, making the best of his opportunities. After spending about
a year as clerk in the store, he began in the local school during
the winter months, and in the spring resumed work as clerk.
On October 18, 1854, in Erie county,
Pennsylvania, Mr. Glover was united in marriage with Martha Jane,
daughter of John M. T. and Mary (Greenlee) Dunn. They lived in
Erie county after marriage, and Mr. Glover worked in a store until
the spring of 1855. They then moved to Erie City, where he engaged
in the retail grocery trade about one year, then moved to LaSalle
county, Illinois, where he rented a farm from the spring of 1857
until the spring of 1861, when they removed to Livingston county,
Illinois, and carried on a farm Mr. Glover owned, until their
removal to Custer county, Nebraska, in the spring of 1886.
During the previous fall, Mr. Glover had made a
trip to Butler county, Nebraska, where his brother, Henry, and his
son, Henry Bion, were living, and the latter came overland with
him into Custer county, where he purchased land. In the spring,
Mr. Glover brought his wife and three children to their new home
on the ranch, which had been purchased in the fall. During the
winter of 1885 and 1886, the sons, Bion and Percy, and daughter,
Deett, remained on the home farm. They have steadily prospered,
and the firm of Glover & Sons have a fine herd of cattle, and
over six hundred and forty acres of land in the home farm. They
have a modern home, well

840

COMPENDIUM OF
HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

kept lawn, and trees
and flowers. Although he and his wife have been married
fifty-seven years, both are active and in robust health. The sons
practically manage the farm work, and Mrs. Glover has her
daughter, Mrs. Potter, to help in the home. They have six
children: Deett, Mrs. J. W. McRae, of Harlan county, has two
children; Mary Emily, Mrs. Potter, living with her parents; Grace,
wife of E. V. Sparks, of eastern Colorado; Henry Bion, interested
with his father in the farm and stock business, lives on section
thirty-five, township eighteen, range eighteen, and is married;
Percy D., married, and living on his fine Custer county farm, has
fifteen children; Sidney L., married, and living on section
twenty-four, Westerville township. They are a representative
family, and active in furthering the best interests of the
community. Mrs. Glover is the only surviving member of her family,
as Mr. Glover is of his.

LEONARD
WEIGAND.

Leonard
and Theresa (Meyer) Weigand, of whom a sketch appears on another
page of this review, parents of Frank Weigand, of Bloomfield, were
natives of Germany. The father was born in the village of
Genetzheim, kingdom of Bavaria, January 6, 1824. He learned the
cabinet maker's trade, and was employed in a number of cities in
Germany in his young manhood. He was residing in Berlin at the
time of his emigration to America with his wife and son, Frank.
Embarking at Bremen in a sailing vessel the last day of September,
1854, they landed in New York, November 11, and proceeded to
Cleveland, where the father found work at his trade.
In 1858, hearing glowing accounts of the
opportunities in the west from F. L. Meyer, his brother-in-law,
Mr. Weigand disposed of his household effects, and started for
Nebraska. The railroad at that time extended only to Fort Dodge,
Iowa, whence they traveled by stage to Sioux City. Here Mrs.
Weigand's brother met them with an ox wagon, and, crossing the
Missouri river, March 17, slowly carried them to his squatter
holding on what is now known as Ames creek, near St. James, Cedar
county, the land not yet at that time having been thrown open to
settlement. Here they lived together until the Pike's Peak exodus,
when Mr. Meyer joined the gold-seekers, leaving his claim to Mr.
Weigand. When the land was thrown open to settlement, Mr. Weigand
was deprived of his claim through a perversion of law, and had to
seek further for land, on which he could file.
For a time, the family lived near St. James, and
finally, in March of 1862, Leonard Weigand selected a quarter
section, thirteen miles north of where Bloomfield now stands, and
fifteen miles southeast of Santee Agency, and filed on it under
the homestead law. When he began, he had thirteen head of cattle
and fourteen cents in money a small beginning, truly, When he
retired a few years ago, he had accumulated one thousand acres of
fine land, besides a large holding of personal property. In 1904,
be began spending his winters in the west, and, two years later,
became a permanent resident of Oakland, California, the climate
there agreeing with him. Far along in the eighties, Mr. Weigand is
hale and hearty, with a light springy step, such as a man half his
age might envy. His mind is bright and active, and he takes a keen
interest in current events and the political conditions. The
post-office of Weigand was established through his influence, and
the village of Weigand, in the northern part of Knox county, was
named for him.
His good wife died, June 15, 1901, at the age of
seventy-one years, five months and sixteen days.
His first dwelling on the homestead claim was a
dugout, with an entrance between two log cribs, built into the
bank, where the dwelling was made. The only window was a small
sash in the roof, on the south slope. Indians were plentiful, and
at times a dozen of their tepees were set up around Mr. Weigand's
home place, and the red brother made himself useful in helping
gather corn, dig potatoes, and in many other ways. During the
first years, the nearest neighbor was an old bachelor, six miles
distant, and beyond that there were no neighbors for many
miles.

VICTOR VAN
CAMP.

This
gentleman is practically a native Nebraskan, having settled here
with his parents when but four years of age, and his entire career
since boyhood has been spent in this region. He is a man of fine
mind and superior education, is prominent in local affairs, and
has served Boone county in various capacities for the past several
years.
Victor Van Camp was born in Sauk county,
Wisconsin, on October 4, 1867, being the eldest child in the
family of Garrett and Laura Van Camp, who had, beside our subject,
one daughter. When Victor was but four years of age, his parents
came to Boone county, the father being a pioneer homesteader of
the county. Our subject obtained his early education in the
country schools, afterwards attending the Neligh Academy for four
years. He also spent one year in the law department of the
Michigan University at Ann Arbor, and then returned to Boone
county, where he embarked in the farming and stock-raising
business on his own account. He has done considerable for his
locality in the way of helping build up the schools, etc., and is
a leading citizen in local and county politics. During 1906 and
1907, he served as deputy sheriff of Boone county, and was deputy
county clerk during the following four years.
Mr. Van Camp was married on June 1, 1898, to
Miss Mabel Pierce, who is a native of Minnesota, but has spent
practically her entire life in

COMPENDIUM OF
HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

841

Boone county, her
parents being early settlers here. Mr. and Mrs. Van Camp have four
children, all at home, and named as follows: Myrtice, Pierce,
Laura and Eunice. The family have a pleasant home, and are among
the popular members of society in their community. Mr. Van Camp is
a member of the school board of Albion.

PRESTON
SARLES.

Preston
Sarles, retired farmer of Spencer, as been a resident of Nebraska,
since March, 1886, when he settled in Dixon county, and lived six
years on a rented farm. He came to Boyd county in May, 1892, filed
on a homestead four north of Spencer, and bought a quarter
section, which cornered with his homestead, and here he developed
a highly productive farm. He resided here for about fifteen years,
and, renting to his son-in-law, retired from active farming. He
sojourned nearly two years in Colorado, helping his son, Walter,
secure an eighty-acre tract of fruit land under the Gunnison ditch
in Delta county. He then returned to Spencer in February, 1909,
and since that time has lived a quiet life here.
Mr. Sarles was born in Floyd county, Indiana,
November 30, 1852. His parents, Henry and Susan (McCutcheon)
Sarles, lived their entire lives on a farm in the state of
Indiana, where they were born. He started out in life for himself
at the age of twenty-two, and the year following, he married, and
lived for a year or two on a rented farm. Later he bought forty
acres in Crawford county, on which he lived until coming west at
the time stated above.
Mr. Sarles was first married in August, 1875, to
Martha E. Jenkins, a native of Indiana, and daughter of Samuel
Jenkins. Three children were born to them: Walter, who lives on a
fruit farm in Delta county, Colorado; Cora, wife of William
Wilkerson, a bridge-builder and house-mover of Spencer; and Homer,
who has remained under the parental roof.
Mr. Sarles was married a second time in Dixon
county, Nebraska, in December, 1889, the bride being Martha Jane
Goodson, a native of Crawford county, Indiana, and daughter of
Jasper Goodson. Three children have blessed this union, namely:
Lula, who is married to Frank Wilkerson, who holds a lease on the
homestead; Leora, who, with her husband, Eby Ross, lives in
Montrose county, Colorado.
The first six years of life on his homestead,
Mr. Sarles and family occupied a sod house, and, like all other
settlers, found it a most comfortable dwelling, more so than the
new frame residence that was its successor. Mr. Sarles had the
opportunity to feel the edge of the blizzard of January 12, 1888.
His children were at school, three-quarters of a mile distant, and
he and the hired man found their way to the school house, and got
the children safely home, though the man with Mr. Sarles'
brother's children missed the house, and ran into a granary before
finding their way into the house, which they occupied jointly. He
has fought prairie fires, both in Dixon county and in Boyd county,
and knows something of the peril the early settlers encountered in
changing the open prairies into fertile farms.
Mr. Sarles is a republican in politics, and is a
member of the Spencer clan of Royal Highlanders.
In September, 1909, the Independent Lumber
Company of Spencer, was organized, and Mr. Sarles became a
stockholder. In the spring of 1910, he was elected vice president,
and holds this office at the present time.

THEODORE
FRISCHKORN.

Theodore
Frischkorn, a self-made man and successful farmer of Custer
county, Nebraska, came to the county with but a dollar or two in
money, his chief asset being his ambition to succeed, which was
reinforced by energy and physical strength. He was born in Beaver
county, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1852, the second of four children
born to Adam and Christina Frischkorn, three of whose children
were sons. His parents, of German birth, came to Pennsylvania in
youth. One son, John, came to Custer county about 1884, and
another son came to the state with Theodore.
In April, 1877, Theodore Frischkorn and his
brother, Joseph, left Pennsylvania, and went to Iowa, where they
spent one year, removing the following April, with two young teams
and wagons, from Iowa to Nebraska, crossing the river on the
transfer at Omaha. After spending a short time in Grand Island,
they came on to Custer county, and secured a homestead on section
eighteen, township seventeen, range eighteen, Theodore securing
the south half of the northeast quarter and the north half of the
southeast quarter. He is one of the very few homesteaders to
retain possession of his original homestead, and he still occupies
the sod shanty he erected when he first came here, at a time when
the region was very sparsely settled, there being but one cattle
ranch between his homestead and Broken Bow. He has lived in his
present home continuously since 1878, and has passed through the
years of drouth and other hardships. He is now one of the most
prominent stockmen in the central part of the state, and is a
progressive and well-read man. He also secured a timber claim in
the same section, and has now four hundred acres of land in the
home farm, besides three hundred and twenty acres adjoining on the
southwest, making a farm of seven hundred and twenty acres, which
is one of the best in central Nebraska, and which he devotes to
grain and stock raising. He also owns three hundred and twenty
acres in Dry valley. With all his large interests, and the
time

842

COMPENDIUM OF
HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

necessary to look
after his estate, he manages to keep abreast of the times and the
progress of events in the world outside.
He has been actively interested in public
affairs in his county, and in early days served some time as
justice of the peace. He has his farm well fenced, and has quite a
growth of timber, which he set out himself, and which adds much to
the value and appearance of his place.
Mr. Frischkorn's brother, Joseph, who came with
him to Nebraska, now lives in Washington county, Colorado, where
he was a pioneer settler..

VINCENT J.
STEDRY.

Vincent J.
Stedry has for many years been influential in advancing the cause
of progress in Custer county and central Nebraska, and is
accounted a public-spirited, useful citizen. He was born in
Bohemia, May 5, 1846, a son of Joseph and Mary Stedry, who had
four sons and four daughters, he being the fourth-born child. The
parents came to the United States with their six children in 1854,
and first settled in Baltimore, Maryland. The father served during
the Civil war as musician in the Third Regiment, Maryland
Volunteer Infantry. After serving two years, he received an
honorable discharge on account of physical disability. The Stedry
family resided in Baltimore until about 1870, then moved to
Watertown, Wisconsin, and the father died there in 1883. The
mother died in California in 1909.
Vincent Stedry came to Saline county, Nebraska,
in 1879, and his first work was when he was employed as clerk in
the post-office at Crete. He had received a good common school
education, and took a college course, attending the University of
Wisconsin before he came west, and he taught in the public schools
of Saline county about eleven years, and while a resident of the
county, served some time as deputy registrar of deeds and in other
positions in the court house, in connection with his school work.
He was there married on September 3, 1883, to Annie Karten.
In 1884, Mr. Stedry took up a homestead on the
southwest quarter of section three, township sixteen, range
twenty-one, returned to Saline county, and lived there during the
years 1885 and 1886, and then came back to his homestead, which
has been his residence continuously ever since. He now owns a
section, but the original sod shanty on the old homestead
continued to be his home, and he is one of the few settlers in his
neighborhood who continue to live on their original homesteads.
During the past year, he has been connected with county work, and
in 1899 served, under Governor Poynter, as state oil inspector. He
often acts as interpreter for his fellow countrymen, newly arrived
in America, and is one of the best known and most popular men in
his county. He has always been especially interested in
educational measures, and is known as one of the most progressive
farmers in his part of the state.
Three children were born to Mr. Stedry and wife:
Vincent, Ruby and Oliver, all at home. Mrs. Stedry died on the
home farm, September 30, 1909, having been a faithful wife and
mother, and deeply mourned by her many friends. An interesting
picture of the Stedry family will be found on another
page.

Miss Ruby Stedry.

Vincent J. Stedry and Mrs. Vincent J.
Stedry.

Sod House Home of Vincent
J. Stedry.

FREDERICK
DEDLOW.

Frederick
Dedlow is one of the thrifty German citizens who have come to
Nebraska by way of Wisconsin. He was born in the village of
Ihlenfeld, Mechlinberg-Sterlitz, September 27, 1842, and lived
here until he was in his twenty-second year. Sailing with his
sister from Hamburg on the "Teutonia," in 1864, he landed in New
York, after a voyage of eighteen days. Proceeding directly to
Wisconsin, he found work in Jefferson county, where he labored at
whatever his hand found to do - sometimes on farms, sometimes
hauling to the railroad, but always industrious, always busy,
until 1871, when he migrated to Nebraska, and settled on a
homestead, one mile east and south of Plainview, later filing on a
timber claim.
Mr. Dedlow is a son of Frederick and Fredricka
(Grehn) Dedlow, who followed to America with the rest of his
family in the fall of 1866.
With his sons, Frederick, Charles, John and
William, he settled on the north side of Dry creek, the first to
build homes in this part of the county. They were followed a few
weeks later by the Dean, Starr and Rose families, who came
together.
Mr. Dedlow was married in Wisconsin to Miss
Minnie Lindahl, daughter of John Lindahl, also from
Mechlinberg-Sterlitz. To Mr. and Mrs. Dedlow three children were
born: August, who is farming south of Plainview; William, who has
never left the parental roof; and Clara, who married M. G. Bley,
and occupies the old homestead, southeast of Plainview.
Mr. Dedlow leans more to democracy than to other
parties, but in local elections casts his ballot for the man more
than for political affiliations. He, with his family, is an
earnest member of the Lutheran church.
Like the early settlers in Nebraska, the Dedlows
lost their crops through the grasshopper pests which raided
Nebraska four or five years and one season by hailstorm that
battered the crops into the ground. They suffered severely from
the blizzards, but lost no stock, but William and Clara, with the
teacher and others, had to remain over night in the school house
during the blizzard of January 12, 1888, when, in other districts,
children perished. In the early days, Norfolk was the nearest
point where a few scanty supplies could be secured, and Wisner or
Yankton